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Kool Stops salmon are the best I think yes they will grab a little more but it takes less pull to stop or it does on my LHT.You may have them set to tight or you are pulling to hard on your brakes.The first time I use the salmon I almost went over the handlebars but they will stop you on a dime good brakes I think.

The Kool Stop black compound is for dry conditions and the salmons for wet. Any other Koolstop color (blue, silver, red, yellow, and the Vans series) is inbetween those 2/all-condition. The Carbon Fiber Compound and Grey compound aren't listed in their chart:http://www.koolstop.com/brakes/Compound.html

I don't know about harder but the black and red ones don't grip as well as the salmons. So if your particular setup seems a little too grabby then a switch would definetly reduce the initial grab an require more effort at the lever to stop the same.

.....The first time I use the salmon I almost went over the handlebars but they will stop you on a dime good brakes I think.

Depends on how long the Kool Stop Salmon pads have been sitting before being sold. I had "no brakes at any speed" and had to bed them in like disc brake pads before braking was satisfactory. Good thing I tested them out before my GF jumped on her bike for a spin. Went down a long hill to make sure and dragged the brakes on and off...had the pads smoking a bit...lol. Now they're ok and braking fine/consistently. Still has a slight scraping noise when the brakes are applied, but it's not screaming...was quiet when it rained.

I use KS Thinline cantilever pads on my winter/rain commuter. I bought the black ones first, because I got them cheap on eBay. They were great, but wore out kind of quick. I'm now on the blues since last winter and they feel about the same but have lasted a lot longer. The blues should, I think, be softer than the blacks but the blues have definitely lasted longer. It might also be that I've learned to do most of my braking with the front brake as it seems to stay cleaner. I just checked the wear and they're still doing great, about even front and back. I used to wear out the rear a lot faster.

I have '94 LX Cantis with '94 XT levers and, set up right, they modulate great in all weather. They squeal a bit when wet or when the rims get dirty, also when the toe-in wears back to zero toe, but they're always confidence-inspiring. Since that bike only sees "good chance of rain" days from Spring to Fall, I might give the Salmons or half-Salmons a try in the Spring.